Notes / Commercial Description:
Fuller's London Porter is an award-winning example of this historic English style; smooth and creamy with delicious chocolate and coffee flavors derived from the roasted malt.

The griffin Brewery is Chiswick, London, has brewing fine ales since 1654.

The Fuller, Smith & Turner partnership dating back to 1845, brews an excellent range of award-winning beers, many of which are available in the U.S. including London Pride pale ale and the Old's original ESB.

Reviews by dtreindl:

Best porter I've ever had. As someone who often prefers the American versions of European classics, I must give highest praises for this beauty of a porter. Purchased by chance because I haven't had an English porter recently. So I figured I owed it to my good friends across the pond to give one a try. Color, head, aroma - that doesn't matter. Those are all good. But the overwhelming strength of this beer is in the luscious flavor. Rich, toasty, caramelized malted barley deliciousness! In one of my first few sips I swear the flavor changed dramatically as it washed over my tongue. It progressed through waves of creamy, chocolatey, toasty, and bitter flavors. Quite the complex malt character this porter has!

More User Reviews:

Hello old friend, now in a ... can? Yes. Fuller's is about to release this classic beer in a can for the US market--not sure exactly when though. Word from the brewmaster is that they put just a touch of nitro in the can to keep things smooth--thankfully no widget.

Pours an opaque, rich dark brown--might as well call it black--with subtle ruby hues, topped with a creamy tan lace. Nose if full of malty goodness, ranging from toffee to chocolate to brown bread crust to fresh hay, with slight notes of must, earth, mineral and yeast. Super smooth, medium-bodied, and sits well rounded on the palate. Big chocolaty flavors emerge first, followed by more breadiness, chicory, a sweet dollop of caramel, cereal grains, a hint of floral pith, dry bread crusts and a lingering note of smoke and tobacco.

Delicious and so damn chocolaty, this classic stands up quite handsomely in a can and is a welcome addition to Fuller's ranks.

Appearance  Dark brown in color and a bit hazy with a nice head that went down rather quickly.

Smell  This aroma is mild yet very complex. It is dark, with burnt coffee and some hints of bakers chocolate leading the way. Prune is about the only fruit I can get, but I really enjoy the classic roasted malts. They are done particularly well.

Taste  Ah, yes, done in the classic English style. The roasted malts, which are the highlight for me, come out beautifully. The coffee especially is very sophisticated. It has a tinge of Turkish coffee flavor to it. The chocolate is soft and barely noticeable.

Mouthfeel  This is the Porters strong point, IMO. This is incredibly smooth and well-balanced. It is almost medium-bodied. The varying sensations in the mouth are nearly seamless.

Drinkability  Could this be more drinkable than it already is? No, I think not.

FLAVOR- medium-high sweetness balanced by coacoa flavor and roasty astringency, with medium-low burnt character in a long finish. low woody dimension and medium-high herbal hop flavor. medium coffee and blackberry is back again, as is the red apple...not much hop bitterness, no diacetyl, toasted nut on mid palate,

OVERALL - complexity and depth of flavor are excellent, balance is sweet and then wiped off the palate by gentle but creeping roasted qualities, hoppiness comes through, I revisited this old favorite because BJCP has it listed as an example of "Brown Porter"...brown porter my ass, this is as robust as they come.

I bought this from a local supermarket on a whim after a long day at work, as I've always been a fan of Porter styles.

Upon opening the bottle, I could smell the malty and dark flavours and upon tasting, I was not disappointed. In general, I have been disappointed with Fuller's beer (even London Pride, which I have consumed in great quantity on one particular occasion...).

It is a quintessential porter, with a dark and rich flavour that does not disappoint. The taste lingers in the mouth but pleasurably, with the impression of its richness retained on the palette. Initially, it has a slightly light 'top' with richer undertones and it is those undertones that stay in the mouth. The swallow is smooth and consistent and it has a distinctive depth of flavour that is worth keeping on the tongue. The only improvement would be a slightly deeper 'top' to the flavour but at this stage this is only a very minor point.

I am surprised that it has taken me this long to try London Porter. Simply superb and perhaps a new favourite. It might even challenge my favoured Hobgoblin as my preferred ale-based poison!

Pours a deep brown with some nice ruby highlights a lighter head that leaves some nice lacing,aroma is sweet and roasted with some light cofee aromas lingering.Nice and complex beer somewhat sweet with nice earthy tones, a rich marshmellow-like finish.A nice rich and sustaining porter very well made for sure.

A deep brown/mohagany pour with a nice tan head. Clear and very settled. The nose is nicely highlighted with soft chocolate and light roasted malt. The taste is nicely malty with dry, unsweetened chocolate notes and a mild coffee-ish flavour. Very nice staying power. The semi-bitter finish lingers nicely. A very smooth mouthfeel with a dry, coffee-bean-bitter finish. A great example of the style.

Aroma is somewhat Baltic like in that it has a heck of a lot of prune in it. Otherwise one finds a mountain of roasty/toasty malt and a touch of coffee.

Tastes strong and firm of roasty malt and chocolate with a surprising amount of boozy fruit flavor. Very odd considering the ABV. Minute amounts of charcoal and some hop bitterness add to the character. Buttery and smooth. Well rounded and balanced.

Straight forward, plain and simple and just great. I could drink it all day long.

Pours a dark, ruby-tinted mahogany color. Smells of malted chocolate. Taste is quite good, although a bit different from other porters I've had. It has a malted chocolate flavor, with some coffee-like bitterness. Mouthfeel is creamy and fairly full.

Overall, this is a darn good porter. I've been meaning to try it for a while now, but this single I bought by mistake (I thought I had grabbed a London Pride). I'm glad I did. Although it's not super-special, it's definitely worth a try, more than once in a while. A nice break from those big winter brews.